Elections 2016:
NDI sends international mission to observe elections in Georgia
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The main United States (US) branch of the National Democratic Institute (NDI) is sending a high level international mission to observe the October 8 Parliamentary Elections in Georgia.
NDI is a non-profit organisation that supports democratic institutions and practices worldwide, and has satellite offices all over the world including Georgia.
Today NDI said its delegation, composed of politicians, civil sector leaders, election experts and regional specialists, will arrive in Georgia in the next few days.
The delegation included:
- Ted Kaufman – former US senator from Delaware
- Sam Gejdenson – NDI Board Member and a former US representative from Connecticut
- Janusz Onyskiewicz – Poland’s Ex-Minister of Defence and former Vice President of the European Parliament
- Annemie Neyts-Uyttebroeck – A Belgian State Minister and former member of the European Parliament
- Laura Jewett – NDIs Regional Director for Eurasia
- Laura Thornton – Senior Director of NDI’s Tbilisi office.
The delegation will use the work of an NDI pre-election assessment mission that visited Georgia in June, as well as the findings of long-term experts who have been in Georgia and monitoring the pre-election environment since August, said NDI Georgia.
Laura Thornton ( In the middle), Senior Director of NDI’s Tbilisi office. Photo by NDI Georgia press office.
The delegation’s purpose is to demonstrate the international community’s continuing support for democratic processes in Georgia. NDI has been working in the country since 1994 to support the development of parliament, political parties and civil society,” NDI Georgia added.
When in capital Tbilisi, the US NDI delegation will meet with different political players, Government and election officials as well as representatives of civil society, media and the international community.
After holding briefings in Tbilisi, NDI’s observer teams will deploy to locations around the country where they will meet local electoral authorities, political party representatives and domestic election monitors to assess the electoral environment.
On Election Day, Saturday October 8, the NDI observers will visit monitor polling stations when voting opens at 8am, throughout the day and when voting closes at 7pm. The NDI observers will also monitor the vote counting processes in their assigned regions.
The observer teams will then return to Tbilisi to prepare a preliminary statement about their election observations, which will be released at a press conference the following day on October 9.
Georgia’s Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili is appealing to international organisations to send more observers to monitor the October 8 Parliamentary Elections and the pre-election environment in Georgia.
This afternoon the Central Election Commission (CEC) released a mid-term report reflecting updated voter figures, new election data and introduced new services that would make the election process easier for voters.
Room where final counting of election vote goes live online
For the first time in the 25-year history of independent Georgia, the Central Election Commission (CEC) will broadcast live footage of election votes being counted.
There are 185 days left before Georgian citizens can vote for who they want to run the country. The date for Georgia’s Parliamentary Elections has been set for October 8, 2016.
Final list reveals how many people can vote on October 8
Georgia’s Central Election Commission (CEC) has released its final election list outlining the number of people eligible to vote in the October 8 Parliamentary Elections.
Georgia’s Prime Minister has addressed citizens four days before the country hosts Parliamentary Elections and urging them to vote. Kvirikashvili stressed the importance of the October 8 elections.
About 7.5m ballot papers printed for Saturday’s vote
The voting papers are being printed in eight printing-houses in capital Tbilisi. The process is being monitored by CEC members and representatives of NGOs. A total of 7,446,850 ballot papers will be printed.
Publication of public opinion poll results is temporarily suspended ahead of Saturday’s Parliamentary Election in Georgia.The Election Code of Georgia prohibits publishing of opinion poll results for 48 hours before voting.
At today’s Governmental meeting, PM Kvirikashvili said the Parliamentary Elections will be a milestone in the history of democratic Georgia, and he stressed the importance of every person in Georgia voting in tomorrow’s elections and supporting Georgia’s European future.
In capital Tbilisi yesterday PM Giorgi Kvirikashvili met representatives of two United States (US)-based non-profit organisations committed to advancing freedom and democracy worldwide; National Democratic Institute (NDI) and International Republican Institute (IRI).
David Usupashvili has made his final address as Georgia’s Parliament Speaker and voiced his key messages to political players and the wider public ahead of tomorrow’s Parliamentary Elections.
Today the United States National Democratic Institute (NDI) released its final report on last month’s Parliamentary Elections in Georgia, stressing the race was conducted in a free and fair, competitive environment.
The National Democratic Institute (NDI) will send its election observation mission to the upcoming local elections in Georgia in autumn.
The US National Democratic Institute (NDI), together with the Caucasus Research Resource Centers (CRRC Georgia), has published the political section of its survey today, which reads that the majority of those surveyed support the Georgian Dream (GD) ruling party.